Monthly Newsletter

Subscribe Now

Sustainable food policy roundup

December 1st, 2010, 1:19 pm

It’s December already (how did that happen?!), and while roasted holiday duck may be first and foremost on everyone’s minds, let’s not forget another type of duck. Over the past several days, the Lame Duck Congress has been busy addressing some very important issues in the sustainable food world. A quick recap:

Food Safety Modernization Act: This historic overhaul of our nation’s clearly broken food safety system passed the Senate on November 30. The bill passed by a large margin of 73 to 25, with solid bipartisan support. The bill strengthens the oversight powers of the FDA, as well as the ability to recall tainted foods quickly. It also includes an amendment that exempts small farms who sell most of their products locally. To learn more, check out Civil Eats: Senate passes historic food safety bill. Now what? and the New York Times: Senate passes sweeping law on food safety.